Destiny vs Luck
by Sencil4
Summary: This starts out in a short story about Natsu and Happy reading out of an unfinished book that Lucy wrote to be caught later, but he and Lucy end up conversing about it. It is not double spaced. The rest of the chapters will be different scenarios no more rated than T. I don't write sex scenes.*disclaimer* I don't own Fairy Tail, and if I did, I wouldn't change a thing about it.
1. Destiny Vs Luck

Natsu flipped through one of Lucy's books in writing almost greedily. "What's a good part in here to read up?" he thought. "Something good…" he kept repeating in his mind while thumbing through. Some words caught his eyes, and he stopped there and started to read.

_Once again, by a stroke of fate the young woman was still alive and breathing. Yet, a sword had pierced her, but the blade upon being removed from her by her own bare hands turned into ash and her wound healed up. _

_"This must be magic," she said to herself grudgingly and in sickening wonder. Had she swallowed some wondrous potion?..._ Natsu paused.

"This woman, whomever she is, is very lucky." He picked up where he left off. _Then, she pulled herself up in a slow steady motion. A thought clung to her mind's web like a wisp and vanished into eternity, an eternity that this woman was undeniably tied to. _Lucy had added a note in her messy scrawling. _But aren't we all gathered up into an eternity? Is this eternity a great love or a great evil? One is sure to me! But anyway, too serious, Lucy!_

Natsu chuckled at Lucy's indifference to her deep insight. "She always puts herself so low…." Bang! He heard her steps and smelled her scent. "Oh, crap!" he exclaimed and Happy cried out too, for he was also reading over Natsu's shoulders, floating with his conjured white fluffed wings. Happy's triangular ears rose up at the sound of her entrance.

"Hm hum hee hm dee um hm!" Lucy hummed to herself. She was in a great mood. She had finished buying food to restock her pantry and fridge with enough jewel to spare on other things. "Oh, what a good buy!" she thought. Natsu heard her stacking up the food in the kitchen and heard the sound of fruits being stacked on the kitchen table."Mmmmm!" he thought realizing he was hungry, "More food for me and Happy too!" He smiled warmly at Happy and continued reading thinking in his Natsu-like way that it would be safe to read for a while more.

_"Ow!" cried out the red-haired woman in agony, not in the physical pain but in the pain of losing this memory. "Damn!" she cursed the mostly clear light blue sky with strings of clouds in it and trudged onward towards the plains that were visible in the distance. _

_A woman living in that field the other was walking to just woke up from a dream. She, in the dream, was in another field foreign to her, but she was happy for she had seen and met the man of her dreams! She had had no memories of her previous life haunting her for but a second, but they flooded back to her mind too soon- her hungry goats, her never ending quest for water supply, and her aching back that flooded pain every so often in bad weather, all too familiar. She put a hand to her temple while her hair was pushed away from her face by the breezes that blew across the landscape. _

_"Don't worry, my young one," said the man in love. She smiled the most genuine smile of her life and had followed him. She sighed in contentment. Her visage was interrupted when a woman's voice came through the dream. _

_It groaned and spoke in despair, "This must be magic." _

_The woman in the field felt tears come unbidden to her eyes and turned to ask the man for help with her face now flushed, but she woke up with her head under her warm red blanket staring at the brightness of it shining like oxygenated blood under the light of the sun…._

"Whoa! What description!" said Natsu in a loud voice.

"Aye!" Happy agreed, his voice chipper. They both heard a crash.

"Hey!" came a light voice, and they heard running towards them!

"Hide!" Natsu cried and threw his hands up in a jagged motion. Happy hid behind him with his front paws on Natsu's left leg. Lucy stood in the doorway in an instant with her blonde hair glowing in the light of the suns rays coming in from her bedroom window. She was wearing a pink blouse that fit loose on her frame and a black skirt that surprisingly almost went to her knees. Natsu stared at her in surprise, his mouth open a slight amount.

Lucy noticed of course his staring dark colored eyes and said in a surprised voice, "Natsu!?" while blushing lightly.

He replied by a teeth showing smile and asking, "What?...Lucy."

Lucy started, " Why are you…." she saw the bound papers in his hand, "…. reading my book?!" She finished the sentence furiously! Natsu tried to run while Happy got out of the way, but Lucy grabbed his shirt collar and Lucy-kicked him into the bedroom wall.

"Must you always?!" she squealed, blushing in agitation feverishly while skimming through the book to see if it was damaged. Natsu pushed himself up quickly and brushed himself off.

"It was good!" he stated rapidly.

"Wha—," Lucy turned to him in his now standing state. "Really?" she asked incredulously. "What part did you read through?"

Natsu scratched the back of his head, "Uhhhhh…." Lucy stared at him while waiting or trying to wait so patiently. "The part where a woman got stabbed! And her sister has a dream or whatever!"

"That wasn't her sister!" barked Lucy exasperated at Natsu always adding his own bits to _her _stories. "But, maybe she IS in one way," said Lucy in a thoughtful pose.

Natsu looked at Lucy thinking how weird this chick friend of his is and decided to say truthfully, "She just sounds lucky to me."

"Who?" asked Lucy.

"The stabbed woman; I mean, she was still alive after all that!"

"Oh, she's not lucky," said Lucy defiantly. "That's her destiny though a sad one," she added pout fully.

Nastu grinned and crossed his arms. "No pouting and why destiny?!"

"Because, I don't believe in luck," Lucy stated. "Nothing is lucky. Nothing. So many bad things happen and good; I don't believe that's outta luck! I can't believe that! You, I, we all have purpose!"

"You're confusing me Lucy!" called Happy, floating in the air beside her. Lucy realized she said many deep things and promptly shut her mouth.

"Cat-!" She started to reply. Natsu walked over and hugged her. She felt warm at once.

"What about us?" he prompted while smiling. "Are we destiny?"

"He probably doesn't realize how awkward this is," Lucy thought. "Well, if you mean us meeting, I can believe this," she replied awkwardly. Then, in a daring move, Natsu touched his tan forehead upon her lighter one and looked into her dark brown eyes in what looked like a pondering and caring gaze. At this, Lucy opened her mouth in awe at seeing this expression that he had given to the future Lucy before she had met her demise. "Was that her destiny?" thought Lucy, "-to never see his face again? I won't let that happen." She pulled him closer and put her cheek onto his own. "This is all I need," she thought, "his warmth lights me up." Lucy heard Natsu sigh, and she didn't move. They stayed like this for a while longer, and then Natsu pulled away from her in a slow, deliberate manner. He looked Lucy in the eyes while she stared back at him still captured in that glorious moment.

"So, what's for lunch!" he almost shouted grinning from ear to ear. Lucy broke out of the moment to the present, but she smiled and shook her head.

"Natsu!" she whined with a face full of irritation. But, he knew she was just playing even though she didn't know, and Natsu liked that about Lucy, very much!


	2. Lucy Again

Lucy Again

Erza sat down at the high bar counter with a real strawberry fruit drink on the counter top sitting languidly beside her. She figured this was a good substitute for a cheesecake since she doesn't have a job lined up or had one recently to burn the carbs off of her. No, no cheesecake today…. 'Sadness!' She looked to her left and saw the comfortable scene of blue-haired, water mage, Juvia holding on to the shirtless Gray's arm for dear life. 'So sad, and so cute! But, why?!' Erza showed her confusion on her countenance for a moment, but it disappeared in time. She then heard a loud yell. "Lucy!" she heard Natsu yell. His voice sounded oddly whiny to her ears perhaps because he hadn't beat her squarely in a duel yet, but she does believe in his confidence. She raised her eyebrows when her mind finally registered that _Lucy_ was tipsy when she was last with her at her table. She had asked _Erza_, her, to watch her in case she got as drunk as she did on that night at the beach when they were all training for the games. 'Oh no!' Erza dropped her armor-clad hand onto the counter in a loud bam! 'Me, so worried about my calories yet I let Lucy drink her fill and possibly expose herself!? How embarrassing…. for both of us! I need to be punished! But first off –.' Mirajane appeared to be in conversation with someone else, so Erza walked away to find Lucy! 'Poor young woman!' Erza thought of Lucy.

Lucy was at her regular eating table with a bottle of cold, sweating beer in her hand looking at it with a confused expression. Young Wendy was trying to grab it away from her, but Lucy pulled it from her hands always just out of reach sporadically. Erza had a feeling that Lucy was seeing in doubles maybe even triples. "No, Lucy! Over here! Give it here!" cried jostled Wendy jumping up and down. "Ouuuu-kay!" answered Lucy in a slow tone with lethargic movements and pushed the bottle just out of her reach again! "Errrr!" sighed Carla empathetically. Gajeel was glancing from afar seated at a small wooden round table with Panther-Lily at his side, whom was eating his meal and drinking slowly. Gajeel didn't look very amused. In fact, he looked bored. Natsu had come bounding in through the double front doors looking for his closest nakama. 'And, damn! His voice is loud,' thought Gajeel wincing. 'Well, he's in for a thrill.' Gajeel chuckled to himself mischievously and continued glancing toward the panorama on and off.

"Lucy!" cried Natsu, but Happy saw Lucy first and flew towards her chirping happily, "I found her first; I beat you!" "It's not a contest!" replied Natsu trying to outrun Happy. Wendy turned her head to the duo and frowned while here eyebrows lifted dramatically. "I'm out," she told Carla. "What?!" Carla replied indignantly. Then, she caught sight of Happy, "Oh, male-ca— I mean Happy." She grimaced or grinned? It is hard to decipher. Happy always saw a grin though…. "Lucccc…y!" Happy yelled and landed on her chest. Lucy looked down at the winged cat and giggled. "What er you, a pillow or an animal?" she then hugged him tightly in return. Happy wasn't displeased, but he couldn't breath! "Oi, Lucy!" said Natsu while crossing his arms and standing in front of her. " Are you trying to squash Happy?" He scolded. "Oh, Natsu…." Lucy promptly let go of Happy. So quickly in fact, that he fell to the wooded floor in a muffled thump! "Ay, sorry!" Lucy yelled in a loud voice. "What's with you?" asked Natsu perplexed with his head cocked to the side in the shadows of the guild room cast by the many lamps and lights around it. Lucy thought very hard. Natsu had thought he saw the gears turning in her head, and Erza stood behind Natsu all of the sudden and clasped her left hand to his right shoulder. "She is _drunk_, Natsu! I was supposed to watch over her. Reprimand me, please." "What the-" he replied while glancing to the side to do his best to see Erza. He turned to face her. "Like hell I would reprimand you! No, you, fight me!" He shouted pointing to himself importantly and he willed fire that blazed onto his hands. Erza rolled her brown eyes and punched Natsu into oblivion. "Uhhhhhhh." Natsu lay bunched up on the floor with his rump in the air, his extremities twitching in what looked like spasms. He heard Lucy giggle and say, "Oh, Natsu. You can do better than that! Hah ah hah hah ah!" Natsu grinned, but then remembered that Lucy was drunk, and her beauty hidden from him. 'No! She needs to go back home and be normal, normal Lucy again! I won't stand for this.' He didn't like seeing her like in this state of mind…. all hell was the last time. 'I had to take her to the washroom!' he moaned in his thoughts, feeling sick and angry just knowing this. 'Dignity!' Lucy frowned as he marched toward her, and she tried to focus. Recognition hit her. "Oh, I'm gonna go back home!" she said as calmly as she could and tried to stand up in her brown boots. Natsu moved beside her and held her elbows to keep her up. "No way are you walking! I'll carry you." 'But, not like the last time!' He picked her up in his muscled arms bridal style in force. Lucy nearly passed out from the g-force. Erza moved toward them while Happy grinned and flew around in circles. "Natsu, I want to escort you two back to Lucy's home." "What about me?" came Happy's teasing voice. "Yes, you also," replied Erza in a serious tone while glancing at him. "Okay, fine," replied Natsu in a hurry to get to Lucy's house and bed! They all proceeded to walk out of the guild together. Cana waved them out goodbye, and Mirajane chuckled. They took a good while to make their way to Lucy's. "Natsu," said Erza, her eyes glinting in the moonlight of the night a bit after they had arrived. "I will wait for you here." Erza nodded to him and he nodded shyly back. 'Like I would do anything to my best friend,' he thought rashly. He and Happy walked through the front door that Erza had unlocked with her key and made their way through each dark moonlit room slowly to Lucy's bedroom. They were in the doorway to her cozy looking room, and Happy said, "Let's put Lucy down here and make her comfortable, Natsu." "Comfortable?" Lucy questioned. Natsu jerked her up a bit in his grip gently, and she quieted down. He was getting ready to put her on the bed. "Natsu?" Lucy asked and looked up at him from the shadows while in his arms. He heard her heart beat faster and she reached up her hand to cup his cheek in it and moved her head towards his face. She kissed him on the other cheek somewhat sloppily in her movements. Lucy quietly looked into his eyes with a worried face. Natsu's face looked furious, but he calmed down very quickly. His face was a bit blushed now. "Calm down." he whispered to her, and looked at Happy awkwardly while setting her on the bed. "I'm sorry…." Lucy replied with a sad and worried countenance. "Nah, don't be. It's nice… but weird, Lucy!" He smiled at her and she smiled back. "Night!" he said and waved goodbye. "Uh, goodnight, Nat….su," she answered into the night for he was already gone. 'What?' Lucy managed to pull herself off of her bed to write a letter to her mom while sitting at her writing desk, about that night, what transpired, the moment she had with Natsu that was a bit unexpected of her. She sealed it, and slept soundly for the rest of the night. She woke up the next morning in the sun. She had forgotten everything. But, Natsu and Happy didn't. Meanwhile, Natsu was thinking while training with Happy, 'We need to go and do more jobs than what we are doing right now…'


	3. Challenge

Challenge

Natsu and Lucy stood in the guild during daylight hours and were staring down each other. It was a showdown! Natsu had asked Lucy once again to "challenge" him in a loud voice. Happy had floated it the air behind Lucy when this happened. Natsu had marched up to Lucy, stared at her pointedly, and asked her shouting, "You, Lucy, challenge me!" And, he was pumped up with his muscles bulging in anticipation.

Lucy glared at Natsu and said exasperated, "You idiot. Why would I accept that?!" She held her palms out to her sides to show him her resolve. "Because you're strong! And, I want to battle you to see how strong I am!" he replied while pointing to himself. Lucy was touched, but she didn't let Natsu see it. "No," she said pleadingly. Natsu almost faltered, but he made punches in front of her vision. "Come on! Come on! Come on!" He said in sequence with his punches. "Nope!" she said back to him loudly and more defiant. Natsu stared Lucy in the eyes, and Lucy stared back. And then commenced, staring contest. "Oh…." said Happy his voice sounding behind Lucy while hiding his muzzle behind his furry front paws. He looked toward Lucy at the back of her head where her blonde hair was pulled up into one small side ponytail in a star-studded rubber band. Lucy grimaced as the time went on and blushed. Natsu kept staring, determined. 'Crap! He can do this forever!' thought Lucy.

Lucy then felt a light pat on her shoulder that startled her. The palm's touch was cold against her bare shoulder. 'Saved by the Gray…. or interrupted by him,' she thought. "Hey, Lucy," said Gray. "Did you pick a job for us yet?" "Oh well, Gray," started Lucy looking at him, "I was look—." "Ice-brains!" yelled Natsu with a push to Gray's shoulders. "What are you interrupting us for, I was winning that fight!" Natsu growled. 'What is he, an animal?' thought Gray nonchalantly. "That was a fight? Psssht," laughed Gray then he continued on to himself chuckling. "What a guy, huh Lucy?" said Gray deeply to her while nudging her with his elbow. "Well, hot-breath, are you ready for a real fight?" Gray taunted taking a stance in the ready. Lucy had already yelled, "Hey!" at Natsu for interrupting her, but now she was numb because Gray wanted to fight Natsu once again in front of everyone. Natsu's temper and flames flared all around him, and he sprinted forward. Gray put up both of his hands at once and cried, "Ice make shield!" A dazzling, diamond-top like shield appeared before him. Juvia admired it from behind a pillar. "Natsu, watch ou-!" Lucy didn't finish her sentence because red-haired Erza had already punched Natsu in the side of his torso. "Umph!" he exhaled and dropped to the floor in a heap. Lucy watched as Erza glared at Gray, but Gray wasn't dumb enough to challenge her. He let down his dazzling shield and grumbled, "Stupid, Natsu…." under his breath while sulking off. Juvia followed him in the wake of the pillars happily. Erza then stood over Natsu with her hands on her hips and commanded, "You should behave yourself!" She then walked off to another part of the guild to talk with or…. erhem, order someone else around.

Natsu groaned, and Lucy glanced at him on the floor. She didn't want to help him mainly because of his sometimes "manly" dignity. Natsu groaned more as he pushed himself up slowly. Happy still soared behind Lucy, and then he perched on her shoulder top while hanging on to the top of her head. Still, she waited and sighed lightly. "Natsu?" Natsu finished and said while standing on his two feet, "Man, Erza!" He wiped his nose with the back of his hand. His pink hair was in even more disarray than usual. Lucy held in a giggle and smiled. Mirajane was making her way toward them from behind the counter tops careful to not break any dishes. "Lucy, why are you going on a job with ice-cube?" Natsu directed his question toward her with a befuddled expression. Lucy frowned in a confused countenance. "Natsu, as a _team_, we all agreed for now to take turns picking jobs. It's my turn now…." Lucy said a bit warily. "Oh!" he replied while scratching the side of his head near his ear, "Okay, if that's it. Mirajane! Can I have some fire?" He said turning his head to face the white-haired beauty. "Sure, Natsu!" she answered when she finally stood before the three teammates. "Hi, Lucy," greeted Mirajane while grinning widely. "Hiya, Mirajane!" replied Lucy warmly, grinning in return. "I see you're looking for a job," Mirajane prompted. "Well, I had one in mind," said Lucy in thought.


	4. Little Request

Little Request

"What is the job you picked?" Mirajane asked Lucy. "Well, I found this one that would help some worried parents. They are wanting someone to find their lost child," Lucy explained smiling warmly as she pulled out the squared folded request from her short shorts' small side pocket. Natsu grabbed the request from Lucy's light grip, and his dark eyes widened while a white-toothed grin spread on his face willingly and slowly. He glanced at Lucy from over the top of the paper, "Luce…. this award is _only_ 100 jewel." Happy yelped in surprise, "What!?" He turned a flip in the air, and then continued. "The whole team wouldn't be able to go, but if they did…." Happy tried to count on his paws the divided sums. Lucy finished for him, "It would leave each of us with 20 jewel to work with," she said back. 'But, why would you do this, Lucy?' thought Natsu toward her while she lazily stood beside the bar stools. He was confused, and it showed. Lucy smiled at the three who stared at her in wonderment. "So, you wanna go or not?!" Lucy suddenly snapped at her two colleagues. Natsu grinned and replied enthusiastically, "Yeah, count me in!" "Happy too!" said the exceed feeling left out from the two. The trio said goodbye to Mirajane and ventured toward Erza whom looked as if she was still bossing, erhem…. I mean talking to the other people. "Hey! Erza, we have a mission now!" called Natsu waving happily. "What is it?" demanded Erza turning her head from the cowering Jet and Droy. Lucy tenderly handed her the request she reclaimed from Natsu. Erza's eyes started to sparkle with delight and she told them, "Yes! I will come." Natsu and Lucy traded glances of bafflement. They then asked the ice mage Gray who answered no. But, as the three passed by Wendy and Carla at the square eating tables, Wendy held them up. The small girl tugged at Lucy's shirt and asked her with innocent eyes, "Can I go on your job with you?" "Why, sure!" Lucy answered her cheerfully. Wendy looked content and told Carla, "Let's go pack!" "But, Wendy…." Carla replied, but Wendy was already making her way out of the guild towards the girls' quarters. "Hmph!" Carla sighed and flew in Wendy's wake. "Yesh!" said Happy smiling to himself with his cheeks in dimples; his paws were in front of his mouth muffling his voice's sound. Then, Happy looked concerned. "But, now the reward is…. ugh," he slurred, failing at the math again. "It's not really dividable…." replied Lucy shrugging, but she sighed very softly. Nobody heard it but Natsu. 'Oh, so she does still care about the money,' thought Natsu, chuckling inside of his mind. He patted the disgruntled Lucy on the back and said, "Let's meet here tomorrow then!" "Okay," replied Lucy smiling a sweet smile with her eyes, and she was happy he was there.

Lucy took a warm shower when she got home and put her hair up in a white, fluffy, and comfortable towel. She wrapped her body's frame in the matching towel tightly. "Awwwwe!" she sighed as she walked out of the bathroom toward her bedroom. She dressed in some light blue patterned pjs and lay down; Lucy discovered that Natsu was nowhere to be seen, neither Happy. 'That jokin' cat!' And, she fell asleep. During the night whilst it rained lightly outside pattering on the rooftops, Lucy had wavy dreams of the deep, dark ocean with worried and befuddled thoughts swimming around frantically within, for the present in the dreams, her cracked mind. When she awoke she knew she had dreamt, but she couldn't remember what she had dreamt of. She slowly arose from her bedside, and wrapped her arms tightly around herself while shivering. 'If only Natsu were here to hold me!' she reminisced thinking warmly. "What?!" she yelled out loud, distressed. "Bad! Bad! B-A-D!" she screamed. 'But, maybe not….' said her mind so softly that she barely heard her feelings of affection towards him. She soon felt soft warmth again and settled down not knowing how but not caring so. She got ready for the trip. Then, Lucy summoned Plue, hugged him, and set forth with the white Canis Minor by her side shakily walking on the walk to the guild.

The gang was waiting for Lucy at the guildhall, all except for the knight, Erza. Carla stood beside Wendy with a cute outfit on her of a white dress with pink buttons on the top and the skirt part being the same shade of pink.


	5. And Then Picnic!

And Then…. Picnic!

Happy and Natsu stood facing each other conversing. "Will you help me fish, Natsu?" "Of course, Happy!" Natsu replied readily. Lucy smiled at the two friends. Then, Erza appeared rolling her cart of baggage. "I am bringing some food," added Erza smiling a jaunty smile. Lucy laughed lightly. "Are we ready to go then?" asked Wendy being polite with her little hands clasped in front of her. "Yes," replied Lucy.

Later, Natsu was sick, taking up two seats on the train going south of Magnolia. Lucy was doing her best to move to the far right, but she had no more room! Her side ended in a glass window. 'Oh, why didn't you just sit at the window seat, Natsu!?' Lucy grudgingly thought; her legs were sore from halfway struggling to stand up. "Just sit down, Lucy…." implored Erza willing her to sit down comfortably. Erza slightly wondered at the situation. Lucy sat down resentful to do so and picked up Natsu's head roughly, laid his head on her lap, and groaned, "Don't puke on me!" She became more relaxed as time went on, as the train ride was a long one. And, without thinking Lucy rested her left hand on the back of Natsu's neck while nearly nodding out; her head leaned against the seat with her face almost facing the ceiling in her tiredness. Erza smiled at the sight, glad for their company and the way they got along. She looked at Wendy who was gazing at Natsu, Lucy, and Happy. 'Is it just me, or do they look like they can be a family?' Then, she corrected herself. 'Yeah! Of course they are! We all are!' She laughed joyfully in her mind. 'They look more than just that…. maybe, they are going to get married!' Wendy thought, giddy. She giggled out loud. Erza gave Wendy her unique touching smile and settled down again for the ride. Carla listened to Happy as he told a story of how he caught a scaly fish as big as Natsu! "But, it didn't taste like Natsu probably would of, of course!" he told her, excited, waving his arms. Natsu listened as well, but it went in one ear and out of the other. He was enjoying Lucy's touch. Her hand was light, but now it lay heavily upon his nape. It almost felt like she was hugging him again. He relaxed to the extreme in her touch and drifted off into a doze that he woke up from every few minutes.

The train was about thirty minutes from its destination when Lucy and Natsu fell asleep at the same time. Happy kept talking and now Erza was even listening with her eyes wide. She was enjoying his tales very much along so with Wendy almost as if they were both twelve years old and not just Wendy. Carla had a bemused expression upon her face as fields and dark-green skinny and lush trees drifted past in a blur outside of the windowpane. Carla enjoyed the view every so often.

Erza woke Lucy up when the train arrived at their stop, a small city called Interdom. Lucy yawned loudly and saw that her left hand lay tangled in Natsu's pinkish hair. She let out a soft squeak and worked to move her hand out while the others were unpacking their loads oblivious to the situation. Natsu moaned in his sleep, but now waking up under it. Lucy panicked and worked harder to get her hand out of his trap of hair while Natsu gradually awoke blinking his eyes blearily. He awoke to the sight and feel of Lucy's soft light colored thighs, and as he pried himself off he saw a reddish imprint on her from his cheek where he lay on her. 'Oooops.' He smirked. Natsu then moved up quickly and almost puked, his cheeks inflating to stop the wave of sickness. "Natsu! You drooled on me!" Lucy yelled as she looked at the small puddle on her thighs. "Uh huh," Natsu agreed wearily. Lucy let out a breath of consideration and temperance. And, Happy jumped off of her shoulder onto the ground. Lucy followed the rest of her team as she cradled her passed out teammate on her laden back. 'Almost like a kid….' she mused.

They walked the rest of the way for Natsu's sake down one of the cobbled main roads. Then, they stopped for a while at Erza's urging to…. have a picnic! Erza lit up in a way Wendy had only seen before once in her life while Erza pulled out a checkered black and white and plaid sheet, smoothed it out on the green grass for everyone, took out some plates and silverware, and then took out the food with a prized strawberry cheesecake in the center of it all. "Dig in, everybody!" she crooned proudly with diamonds in her eyes and smiling to herself. She had what could only be seen as love, or a long for held child dream fulfilled for another time, in her features. "Oh, boy!" Natsu and Happy said in unison. 'So cute! All of them!' thought Lucy scanning over everybody. Carla was picking some food out delicately while Wendy watched. Happy was gobbling fish down. 'Where the heck did those come from!?' Natsu was devouring everything he could get his palms on, and Erza had one nearly perfect slice of strawberry cheesecake that she took a savory bite from. And, now…. Lucy grabbed her sandwich in two delicate hands and took a large chomp out of it. Her princess eating habits were chucked out of an imaginary window in her brain. 'Wheeeeee! Wait! We need to save a boy here! Need to eat fast!' Lucy kept chomping off her sandwich in much needed speed for reason.


	6. Team Go!

Team Go!

The team had to basically drag Erza away from the picnic ground to go on ahead with them. She was only persuaded by Lucy's insistence on the urgency needed to save the young boy listed on the request. Erza put away her dreams into the back of her mind for the time being while she pulled her heavy-laden cart down the cobbled road.

"Are we almost there yet, Lucy?" asked Happy, the blue cat. Natsu walked beside Lucy, now fully recovered and with Happy flying above his left bared shoulder. "Well, look's like we are almost there according to the map," Lucy replied while holding a small map of the town. "Let me see!" exclaimed Happy, and he flew behind her to take a look.

They were on the right track however. Minutes later, they walked upon the address listed on the request. The driveway was also made out of cobblestone. It turned off of the road up to a grass-covered hill where a decently sized house rested upon it. Lucy looked at the surroundings in short interest as the group slowly made their way up the hill. There were three lush trees in the front yard, and one of them had a wooden swing attached to one of its long thick branches. Not far from that swing was a birdbath that was situated closer to the house. Lucy smiled at her thought of Aquarius but then cringed when she remembered the constellation's temperance of birdbaths. Carla murmured from beside Wendy, "How quaint," for only her to hear, but of course Natsu heard too. Wendy nodded to Carla while she looked at the swing with a smile on her face lighting up. Natsu was quiet for once. Erza came up from behind them dragging her belongings up the hill willingly. She then parked her cart between the other two trees on the right side of the front yard in what looked like a small parking area and smiled in approval.

Upon hearing the racket made from Erza, a young woman with long dark brown hair, cleanly dressed, rushed out of the white front door with her mustached husband also cleanly dressed in tow. "Hello!" called Lucy, and she held up her right tattooed hand as she continued, "We are from Fairy Tail and are answering your request." "What happened here?" added Natsu innocently from beside Lucy. The mustached man glanced at Natsu while the woman spoke in a quavering voice, "Our son, Timothy, went out to the woods behind our house later last week." Tears threatened to well up in her eyes. Her husband put his hand on her back lightly to soothe her as she continued, "We also had a cat named Tiger; Actually, it was his." The woman breathed deep. Natsu nodded, and Wendy looked at the woman with an empathetic expression. Carla crossed her arms together from behind Wendy. She continued, "The cat ran away. Tim is so adamant that Tiger is to be part of the family that he ran after him, and he probably assumed it went into the woods." Her husband was silent all throughout this time, but then he added in a serious tone, "Please, find my boy. Even if he is alone…. Bring him back to us!" Natsu rubbed the side of his temple with his hand while Lucy, looking concerned, told the couple in a reassuring voice, "We will find Timothy. Don't worry. Leave it to us. Mr. and Mrs.-?" The woman bowed and said, "My name is Carla." Her husband did the same and said, "My name is Torin." Wendy spoke quietly, "She has the same name as you," to Carla who was now beside her. "I see that," replied Carla. The wife, Carla's eyes went wide as she looked upon the cat, Carla. Erza chose this awkward time to bow down slightly toward the couple and told them, "On our honor we will find your son." She then turned around and said to the Fairy Tail group in a rallying command, "Let's go!" The rest of them bowed slightly in turn and followed her towards the forest.

Natsu wore an amused expression, and sniffed the air around him when all of them were standing in the beginnings of the forest. It was densely populated with trees and undergrowth, but since it was the start of the fall season, some of the leaves were falling off while others were slowly changing color. "So, this boy really like cats it seems," Lucy uttered while they walked along. "Of course he does!" piped Happy from beside her. "We need to find Timothy promptly," said Carla, "He has been here in the wilderness for almost a full week now. Let us hope he is a strong young lad." Natsu kept sniffing at the air during their conversation, moving himself back and forth on the path ahead. "Have you found anything?" Wendy questioned. She was with him on the path and was doing her best also to find a scent but knew full well that Natsu's nose was the best at catching them. "I think so," he replied. "I am coming up on one of them." "Who?" all the girls asked at the same time. "Tiger," said Natsu in reply with a glint in his eyes. "Tiger?" parroted Lucy. "Let's continue on," urged Erza. Natsu ignored Lucy for the moment while he moved on at a faster pace and disappeared. The team ran after him, excluding Happy and Carla who had started to fly.

"Where did he get the cat's scent from?" wondered Lucy out loud as she ran as fast as she could to keep up. Wendy was close behind her and replied, "The scent was on the tree with the swing. Both of their scents were heavy there." Carla's face looked serious as she flew in front of the two girls with Happy being happy beside her. Erza was ahead of them all, following close behind Natsu.


	7. Cave

Cave

Natsu went on ahead regardless of whether Erza caught up or not. 'I know that I can find him if I keep going,' he thought without ceasing. Leaves, even those not yet turned colors, fell around him. They brushed against his heated skin.

He remembered back to a time as a young child when his skin first gave off heat from his training with the dragon, Igneel. That fall the heat that came from Natsu was so uncontrollable that the leaves burst into flames around him when they came into contact with his skin. It was a bit scary for him, but he laughed in spite of it with Igneel watching over him close by.

Of course, this didn't bother him now as he had somewhat gained control over his power, but the thought of that time with Igneel made Natsu somewhat calmer as he continued on through the forest to find the boy and his friend. While traversing deeper into the forest, Natsu came upon a cave that was in the side of a ravine. The ground before the cave's entrance looked as though it had been dry in that place for some time, but Natsu could sense that there were two lives close by.

Meanwhile, Erza and the others continued on after Natsu. His trail seemed to be only known to the observant Erza and, of course, Wendy. The both of them walked together before Lucy, Happy, and Carla who were conversing about something or another, but they were all silent for a while as the sun started on its path toward Earth Land.

And then, Natsu walked toward the cave bathed in elongated shadows. The sunset line silhouetted the knob behind the cave. He walked into the cave's entrance without having to duck down. Not too far inside, Natsu could see a young boy in the shadows on the left side seated on what looked like a bench made out of greyish stone close to one of the cavern's walls. Natsu automatically lit up a fire above his right raised hand. "What are you doing way out here, kid?" he asked. The boy was frozen in surprise. As the light of the fire from Natsu danced on his features, he replied, "I'm looking for a friend of mine," with a then determined composure. Natsu smirked but quickly regained _his_ composure, "Well, I haven't seen him, but—," The rest of the team interrupted as they powered into the cave. "Does anyone see Natsu?" "He should be right on ahead, Lucy," came Erza's voice. Wendy didn't say anything nor Carla, and Happy voiced his reply to Erza, "Aye!" He flew straight ahead and ran into Natsu's back. As he regained his flight, Natsu said, "Hi, buddy." "Hi!" Happy replied while flying close to him. The rest of the group caught up while Natsu turned his gaze back to the young boy. "Who's he…. Timothy?!" cried Lucy jogging past Natsu yet acknowledging him on her way. She stopped short in her surprise. "Your name is Timothy; isn't it?" said Natsu in turn to the boy. "Oh- Natsu stop—." Lucy's reply was cut off by the boy's reply, "Yes, that's my name, Timothy." His voice sounded timid and meek at the same time, and he shuddered for a moment.


	8. Tiger

Tiger

"Oh, so you're the boy we've been looking for," cooed Erza after walking toward Timothy. She squatted to his level beside him and continued, "We are from a magical guild, and it's in our request to find you, Timothy." "Really?" he said, incredulous. He broke his eye contact with her and wiped his dark brown dis-leveled, greasy hair from his semi-smudged face. Then, Timothy's eyes lit up in excitement as he looked back at her. "Your from Fairy Tail? I know Fairy Tail," he said while gesturing with his arms. Lucy smiled at this comment. "You guys are famous!" Timothy exclaimed while looking at all of them in turn. Natsu grinned widely, and everyone else grinned except for Carla who looked preoccupied in thought. "Aye!" said Happy. He continued, "So, where is your friend?" Happy looked back and forth through the cave's shadows. It was difficult to decipher what was inside other than what was lit up by Natsu's flame.

"Oh, um…. Tiger is outside looking for food…. He's kind of mad at me, that I followed him out here." Timothy grinned sheepishly. Everyone was silent at this. Erza then opened her mouth to speak, but Lucy said in a loud voice, "Wait!... Isn't this a _cat_ we're looking for? Why is it out there looking for food? For Timothy? Is it that smart?" Lucy aimed her last sentence at Timothy. While Lucy calmed herself down from her outburst, Natsu gave her a knowing look and then glanced back at Timothy. Erza and Happy looked perplexed while Wendy stood calmly beside Carla. Carla was staring at Timothy in an enduring way. "Oh, yeah- he is..." said Timothy suddenly nervous. "He's a really good hunter though." Then, he promptly shut his mouth.

Erza patted the young lad on the back reassuringly, and while he almost fell off of his stony seat, she started to ask, "Natsu, what's—" Natsu smiled and turned his head toward the cave's entrance. "Why don't you come out and introduce yourself?" he yelled in a steady voice, cupping his hand over his mouth to make his voice more directed toward the visitor.

The group heard a light cough and then heard some light footsteps approach them. Natsu's firelight slowly revealed a striped Exceed, orange in color. His rounded ears were flattened against his crown while his long tail twitched sporadically, and he wore a brown pouch upon his back that looked full. Timothy smiled in relief.


	9. The Coming Night

The Coming Night

"Tiger, are you okay?" Timothy asked the Exceed. "Yep," he replied in a grunt. His ears lifted up a bit, and he walked tentatively towards Timothy barefoot. He maneuvered his way through the Fairy Tail group that was bunched in a loose half circle around the boy.

When Tiger stood before him, he loosened the pouch's strings from his shoulders, took the pouch off, and lowered it to the dirt ground. Before Tiger opened the top of the pouch, he turned his head toward Natsu and said, "Thank you for the light." Lucy was still staring incredulously at Tiger from the time when he first came in. Timothy asked him, "So, what do you have?" Tiger opened the pouch wide and said, "I have some mushrooms; no meat today…" "Ah, how come we never have meat?" Timothy pouted while his hands rested on his knees, and he sat on the edge of the seat. "I can get you some meat!" Natsu declared with a large toothy smile. His fire flared up in his excitement. It lit up the inside of the cavern more. Lucy, Erza, and Wendy all caught a glimpse of what was farther back in the former darkness. Some water?! Erza exchanged glances with Lucy by chance. Then, she told Lucy in her teaching tone without breaking their eye contact, "It must be from an underground reservoir. There may be a river or rivers farther inside running off of it." Lucy though confused nodded in confirmation. "Well, at least we don't have to worry about water," Happy said when he caught on to their conversation. "Maybe, I should try fishing!" Happy was now standing on the ground near Natsu. He looked ready to run over to the pool that was shrouded in darkness again. "Maybe you should wait, Happy," said Wendy in a polite voice from close beside of him. "Natsu can make a fire for us so that we can all see." She smiled at Natsu, and Natsu smiled in return. "Sure," he said. "Come on, Lucy, let's go get some firewood!" Lucy looked at him, groaned lightly, but followed Happy and Natsu outside without complaining.

Timothy had a happier composure about him. "It's like we're all going camping!" he exclaimed. Tiger then turned his head towards Timothy. Timothy's shoulders slumped somewhat.

It was now darker in the cave, but the fading light of the setting sun made it to where the smaller group could still see each other dimly. "Timothy," Erza started. She glanced at both Carla and Wendy too. "I am going to stand guard at the entrance of this cave while Natsu, Lucy, and Happy are gathering firewood. I'll leave you with Wendy and Carla. They are both quite capable." Erza smiled her warm, comforting smile, and turned away to walk slowly up the slight incline to the entrance.


	10. Exceed

Exceed

Wendy looked down at her hands shyly. Her dark blue hair almost blended into the coming darkness around them as they four found themselves waiting for the others. 'What am _I_ to do?' thought Wendy unbeknownst to Carla giving her a proud motherly look.

They sat in silence for a while, each of them thinking about the present situation. "Do you want to sit with me?" Timothy asked Wendy, patting the empty space beside him. Wendy glanced at Carla, but her white-furred face was turned away. It looked as if she was glancing at a point near the entrance of the cave. Confused, Wendy turned back to Timothy's hopeful face. "Uh, Okay!" She replied happily. Wendy got up quickly and pushed her small self up with her hands and plopped her seat next to him. She then proceeded to twiddle her thumbs.

"So, how did you get here?" she asked Timothy while looking around the room. Carla fumed on the floor below Wendy while Tiger started to nod off lying on the ground. Tiger had left the pouch of mushrooms with Timothy.

"Uh, I walked?" Timothy said as he plucked a mushroom into his mouth. Wendy's face turned cherry-red in embarrassment. He extended his right hand with a mushroom in its grip to Wendy. "Oh! Thank you!" Wendy took it and plopped it into her mouth just like Timothy had. 'I am hungry from all of that walking,' she thought. "Does it taste good?" "Mmhm." Wendy nodded. Carla was loosing her well-earned patience. She flew up with her white wings to sit beside Wendy.

"Do you want one too?" Wendy said, now more relaxed. "Yes," Carla replied a bit hotly. "Timothy," Carla said as he handed Wendy a big mushroom that was on its way to Carla. "May I ask why you ran all the way out here to save an Exceed that doesn't need saving?" Carla glanced down to Tiger realizing that he hadn't introduced himself to them, and didn't bother to ask who they were either. Carla took the mushroom from Wendy and thought, 'This is huge!' "What? An Exceed? My parents always say he's a cat." Timothy told her. Wendy turned her body toward him a bit and started off quietly, "Carla, I don't think he knows…"

"Timothy, did your parents always tell you that he is just a normal cat?" asked Wendy "Yeah." "Well, it's most likely he came from another place called Edolas. It's in another dimension, and—," Wendy broke off. Tim's mouth was dropped. "Yeah, it's a long story," Wendy said, dropping the matter like a heavy stone.

"What?!" Timothy practically yelled. "You can't just leave me hanging like that after telling me all that!" His arms flew up to the air in his excitement and bewilderment, and a mushroom flew towards the ceiling. It's finished trajectory remained unknown.

Wendy asked him, a little warily now, "Did you find him in an egg?" Timothy pouted inwardly and said, "No, he just came by one day and asked me if we could be friends." Carla scrunched her face up a bit, and she laughed inwardly to herself of how awkward Tiger sounded. "Okay," Wendy said taking another mushroom from him when he offered. Timothy looked deflated. "Mom and Dad didn't believe me when I said he could talk- and fly." "All Exceeds can fly," Carla lectured. "Are you one?" Timothy asked. "Yes, I am. Didn't you see me fly? And, so is Happy," she added.


	11. Load-bearing

Load-bearing

"Oh, cool!" gasped Timothy in surprise. Wendy put one of her hands up to her mouth and yawned. "Are you already tired?" Carla asked Wendy while cocking her head to the side. "Mmhm." Wendy nodded for added emphasis. The three looked at the entrance in unison as if willing the others to come back.

They heard some footsteps, then heavy breathing, and Lucy appeared with a huge stack of wood and sticks in her arms. She dropped it a couple of feet away from the four closer to the entrance of the cave and continued panting with her hands on her knees. She had a few minor scrapes on her bare legs because of her wearing a pink mini-skirt instead of some pants, but she didn't pay the small wounds much heed.

Happy's figure appeared in her wake. He walked, holding a few sticks in his arms and dropped them on top of the huge stack. "Seriously," Lucy started to complain, "Natsu didn't just have to leave us, no, I mean ME with this huge pile to go running off on some goose chase!" Happy smiled, looked up at her and replied, "It didn't look like a goose to me. And, I carried my share…" Lucy held in her smile and scoffed, "Yeah, three whole sticks!" She pointed to the top of the pile. "Lucy," Happy said in a serious tone, "I think your voice is getting louder everyday. Maybe you should see a doctor before it causes an earthquake or more importantly breaks my ears." "Hmph! Breaks your…. ears?" Lucy started to laugh uncontrollably.

"I may guess that you are not the only person tired here," Carla said to Wendy with a small smile on her face watching the scene in front of her. Wendy yawned again and slid off of the stony seat to walk to Lucy and Happy slowly. Carla crossed her arms.

Lucy's laughing jerked Tiger awake. "Wha-?" He rubbed the back of his rounded ears with his paws, sat up and looked around blearily. He groaned. Then, he looked up to see Timothy and Carla on the stone seat.

Carla asked him point-blank, "Sensitive hearing?" Tiger nodded. Timothy looked at him with some sympathy and said to him, "Too bad we can't use the mushrooms as earplugs." "It's alright," Tiger murmured. Carla looked bemused for the second time that day.

Then, a soft clanking was heard of metal upon metal along with more laughter. Except, this time it was more like a crazy cackling. Natsu and Erza walked in the cave towards the woodpile. Natsu carried a big beast on his shoulders that looked like a white wolf with pink spots. It had bony projections on its back following its spine down to its tapered long tail. He laid it on the dirt packed floor and announced, "Meat, everyone!" with a silly grin. Lucy stared at it bug eyed, wiped her eyes, and shook her head in her tiredness. "Natsu, are you seriously planning to butcher that?!" she asked with concern.

Later, they all were gathered around a decent sized fire. It was now night. The fire was kept closer to the entrance since Carla suggested that the placement would keep the cave more insulated. Wendy had silently thanked Carla in her thoughts.


	12. Night Watch

Night Watch

Everyone fell asleep by the fire except for Natsu who decided to take the first watch. He sat at the very entrance of the cave, cross-legged.

_Lucy stood on an island by her Fairy Tail companions, but the island got smaller and smaller until one by one, the rest fell into the churning water, even Happy and Carla whom could fly. Then, Lucy was alone. A dark shadow loomed over her and the island. Then presents wrapped in expensive paper and tied ribbons rained down. They exploded on impact when they reached Lucy, and she cried out loudly._

Lucy woke up for a breath with sweat beaded upon her face. 'That was a weird nightmare,' she thought, but it still left her shaken. 'I need to get away from this fire!' Lucy got up and looked around. Wendy and Carla where both asleep. Happy was on his back asleep. All the others appeared to be asleep also. Lucy realized Natsu was gone and remembered that he was at watch. She walked quietly toward the cave entrance.

Natsu heard Lucy before she got there. He turned his head towards her and said, "What's up? You were tossing in your sleep." Lucy replied, "I had some weirdish nightmare." "What about?" he asked. She took a deep breath and continued, "I don't know what it means or anything, but I have a feeling it had something to do with my father." Natsu smiled and said, "I'm sure ya do miss him." She nodded slowly. "I know ya do. Just like I do with Igneel," he said now looking at the ground. "It had to be hard, the whole deal with Michelle and all, but you have friends. You'll always have Fairy Tail. You always have me," Nastu said and looked at her smiling. Lucy grinned. She sat beside of him. "How's the stars?" she asked. "Oh, them?" Nastu asked. "I didn't really look." They both walked out a bit and glanced up. Lucy was happy to see some of the stars, but Natsu said, " It's kinda cloudy." He squinted his eyes more while Lucy just cherished the moment.

"Meeeeeeen!" "What was that?" asked Lucy surprised. "It was far away; nuthin' to worry about," answered Natsu while shrugging and walking back to the entrance of the cave. "Awwww! I hope it's not monsters," whined Lucy. She sat with Natsu for awhile until she took over his watch.


End file.
